No One
by The King's Soldier
Summary: No one messes with Kate's family. No one.


Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Sanctuary, although I do enjoy watching it immensely. :)  
Author's Note: This is just an idea I got while rewatching Kali, and it's some of what I think might have been going through Kate's head while she was looking for Will right after he went missing. Enjoy!

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**No One**

_No one messes with my family._

I told that to Tad the last time I saw him. Right after I pointed one of the main lab's guns at the heart of the idiot holding him. Guy almost wet his pants. After he ran out of there like a scared little girl, Tad had asked if I really would have killed him. I told him absolutely. And I meant it. No one messes with my family. No one. The last guy who tried it got himself a dinner date with a giant squid. He actually thought I was going to give him Steve in exchange for Tad. Trade one family for another, as it were. But then, Constantine never was the brightest.

I've never had much of a family. Just me and Mom and Tad. Heck, I've never had much of anything. Especially after my dad died. But what I have, I protect. One of those things is Tad. He was always getting in trouble from the minute he could walk. Always needing me to beat someone up or get someone off his back or fix his latest mess. Even after I moved out and got my own life he would still call me periodically needing help. And as angry as I pretended to be and as hard as I would hit him afterwards, we both knew I would always be there to bail him out. Always. Because no one messes with my family.

I'm not really sure when I started to think of Magnus' crazy circus as my family. The first time I met Magnus she almost put a bullet through my foot. Probably would have too, if she hadn't been so ticked her hand was shaking. I've never seen anyone so mad. And then I got burned by the Cabal, and there was nowhere else to go but back to Helen Magnus and her freak show. I never really meant to stay. Hell, I never would have even gone if I hadn't been about to bleed to death. I had planned to lay low until the Cabal attacked and then slip out in the confusion. I was already three blocks away when I realized I couldn't leave. I still don't know why I went back, but I did. And then I stayed. I guess it was for Ralphie, at first. Aside from Tad, nobody had ever looked at me that way before, like they looked up to me, even needed me. Maybe that was why I stuck around. Because the little burger-hog reminded me of Tad. And then Constantine showed up asking for Steve and I knew somehow that I couldn't betray them. Not even for Tad. So I found a way to save them both.

I never really expected Helen Magnus to like me. As far as she was concerned, I was Cabal. I'd given them another guy to be turned into a vampire-on-steroids. And then I kinda shot her kid with a rocket. But I guess I grew on her, just like she grew on me. When they got back from fighting the insecto-freak with Walter, she stopped me in the hall and asked if I knew why Squid-boy wasn't hungry, or why all the cameras in the main lab had "mysteriously" malfunctioned at the same time. I said I had no idea, but we both knew she didn't buy it. I was toast, and I knew it. But instead of throwing me out, she asked me to stay. I didn't even know what to say.

There was something in her eyes that night, a strange kind of respect. And something that looked like trust. No one's ever looked at me that way before. Somehow she knew that I had done what I had to do, and I had done it to protect her family. Our family. And for the first time since we met, she looked at me and seemed to like what she saw. And she smiled at me. She'd never done that before. And for the first time in years, I felt like I was home.

Yeah, somehow they all grew on me. Nerdy Will who can talk all day about forensics and psychiatry, but couldn't impress a girl to save his life. Henry with his crazy gadgets and incessant allergies, who is every bit as annoying as Tad. And even Big Guy, who seems to think that a skull-shattering blow to the head just screams love. Somehow this crazy gang of weirdos became my family. And no one messes with my family.

But now somebody has. Will's missing. Gone. Kidnapped, somewhere in Mumbai. And what's worse, is that it's all my fault. I never should have left him, never should have let him wander off alone. Especially not when he looked so sick. I should have known better. How could I have been so stupid?

Magnus said not to worry, that we'll find him. But I know she's just saying it to keep me from doing something crazy. She's as worried as I am, maybe more. She's only holding it together because she knows one of us has to keep our head, and past experience has told her it sure as hell won't be me. So she asked Ravi to show her the stupid statue so she can try and figure out this one out the smart way. But I'm not exactly the sit-around-and-plan type. I shoot first and ask questions later. I don't care about ancient cults, or about little statues with weird markings, or even about crazy EM spikes that are making abnormals worldwide go whacko. All I care about is my family. And I can't just sit here and do _nothing_, knowing that Will is out there somewhere, in trouble. Nerdy Will Zimmerman, the cheesiest, dorkiest guy I know, who's way too smart for his own good, but who's saved my butt more times than I can count. Will, who I think of as a brother. A dorky brother, but a brother nonetheless. A part of my family. And no one messes with my family.

So while they went to study their stupid little statue, I stuck a chamber in my gun and headed for the door. Magnus turned around knowing exactly what I had in mind, because it was exactly what she wanted to do but knew she couldn't. But she's also more rational than I am, and for a split second, I thought she was going to try and stop me.

"He's out there," I said simply, "which means I am too."

I could tell she understood. She's done her share of crazy things to keep her family safe. Like sticking an Ozone Beetle in her head. Or the time she and Will and I snuck into a ritzy apartment building armed only with hand guns and a magic glass stick to try and save that idiot Tesla from his trust fund vampires. She's done her share of crazy. Magnus and I don't always see eye-to-eye, but this is one area where we understand each other completely. She cares for Will as much as I do, probably more. And if she wasn't the head of the Sanctuary network, I know she'd be out here with me right now looking for him.

But somebody has to stay and hold things together. Somebody has to figure out how Kali fits into all this and what the hell is going on with the abnormals. Somebody has to face the other heads of house and take the heat for the rest of us. And we both know Magnus is the only one who can do this, the only one who can figure this one out, the only one who can keep everybody together right now. So she just nodded and let me go. Ravi obviously didn't understand, but I don't need him to too. Just as long as Magnus does.

So now I'm out here in Mumbai, in the heat, searching the crowded, filthy streets for Will. I've been out here looking for hours, and I'm still no closer to finding him than I was when I started. But I'm not about to quit. Will's in trouble. He needs me to come through for him. So does Magnus. And I'm not about to let them down. I'm going to tear this city apart until I find him. I'll search all of India if I have to. Hell, I'll search the whole world. I won't rest until I find him. And when I do, whoever has him is going to wish they were never born. Because no one messes with my family.

No one.

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Just a quick note, I'm still working on my Seeker fic Lessons Learned and should have the next chapter up very soon. I apologize for taking so long. Until then, feel free to review this piece and let me know how I did. :)


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